Tony Winner Glenn Close To Host 'UNDER MY HAT' Benefit To Aid Fountain House 9/29

Tony Award winner Glenn Close will host and perform at 'UNDER MY HAT, a very special benefit for Fountain House. The 'UNDER MY HAT' benefit will take place on Tuesday, September 29 at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College at 6:30pm. Close will be joined by fellow Tony Winner Sarah Jones.

The Council on Training, Education & Advocacy's annual theatre benefit is Fountain House's most important fall community education event, as it supports Fountain House's mission to reduce the often debilitating stigma associated with mental illness. "Under My Hat" is exclusively written and performed for Fountain House to further this mission.

Perhaps best known for her portrayal of the deeply troubled Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction, Glenn Close, 61, is no stranger to the affects of mental illness off-screen as well. The Emmy Award winner has a more personal connection with this issue, which strikes five percent of the U.S. population and affects one in four families. In an earlier and rare public statement, Close revealed to AARP The Magazine that she has two family members who suffer from serious psychiatric disorders. "I've seen mental illness firsthand," she says. "I know there are millions of people affected, and it's not just the patient who is suffering. It's everyone around them."

Close recently commented that, "There is an army of people out there who care and who want to be involved in the fight to end stigma and find cures. My personal commitment to this challenge remains steadfast."

Two years ago the actress began working with Fountain House, a nonprofit organization that she discovered while searching for help for her relatives. Fountain House offers its members assistance with jobs, education, and housing and also provides a supportive community. In 2009, Close will take her involvement a step further, headlining a national advertising campaign intended to diminish the stigma of mental illness. "When I first thought about doing this, I wondered if people would think that I was mentally ill," says Close. "Then I thought, 'What's the alternative? Not to do it?'" Close acknowledges that continued research into better treatments is important. But erasing the stigma, she says, is the first step.

Fountain House is a professional self-help program, operated by men and women recovering from mental illness, in collaboration with a highly professional and caring staff. The emphasis at Fountain House is on relationships - member to member, and member to staff. Members engage with each other to regain their productivity and self-confidence, resume their lives, and re-enter society. They take part, as well, in promoting their rights, and in erasing the stigma that often separates them from their neighbors.

Since its founding in 1948, Fountain House has served a total of more than 16,000 men and women. Its innovative "clubhouse" model is today the basis for more than 400 similar programs in 32 countries around the world, assisting some 50,000 men and women. The Fountain House concept has been adopted in part by another 1,000 programs in the U.S. and abroad.

Fountain House is also a building - home base for the organization's activities. A five-story mansion-like complex, it encompasses some 57,000 square feet, including four outdoor gardens. The building has been updated from time to time to meet the changing needs of Fountain House members and staff as they create and operate Fountain House's diverse programs, administer the organization, tend to their lives, work and study, dine and relax, and make friends.

Glenn Close is a beloved and acclaimed performer, creating unforgettable characters on stage, screen and television. A Tony, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe award winner, she began her career on stage with the New Phoenix Repertory Company in 1974, and, by 1980, received her first Tony nomination for her appearance in the Broadway musical, "Barnum." Subsequently, she received three Tony Awards for her performances in "The Real Thing," "Death and the Maiden" and for the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, "Sunset Boulevard." Close also won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, and a Drama-Logue Award for her performance as the aging star Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard."

Making the leap from theater to film in 1982, Close debuted in "The World According to Garp." She immediately garnered an Academy Award nomination for her performance as the mother of Garp. Close received four additional Oscar nominations for performances in "The Big Chill," "The Natural," "Fatal Attraction" and "Dangerous Liaisons." Other popular films that she has appeared in include "Jagged Edge," "Reversal of Fortune," "Air Force One" and "101 Dalmatians."

On television, Close is most recently known for her new, critically acclaimed FX drama series, "Damages," of which the Los Angeles Times said, "Close's performance illuminates rather than outshines with its high wattage." In her Emmy and Golden Globe winning performance, Close plays a powerful attorney who can morph at lightning speed from sweet-talking seductress to icy, ruthless litigation machine. As the character Patty Hewes, Close keeps her audience and her fellow characters guessing over her next calculated move. She also won an Emmy Award for her TV film, "Serving in Silence," and a SAG Award and a Golden Globe for her performance in "The Lion in Winter."

In 2001, Close was recognized for her distinguished acting career with a Crystal Award from Women in Film. In 2003 she received an IFP Gotham Award for her significant contributions to the New York independent filmmaking community. In 2008, she received the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, presented by Sherry Lansing at the Hollywood Reporter's annual Women In Entertainment event. Close served on the board of The Sundance Institute for 16 years. She is a supporter of Puppies Behind Bars and the soon to be launched "BringChange2Mind" national campaign to fight the stigma of mental illness.

For further information or information on the purchase of tickets please contact Nina Okun: nokun@fountainhouse.org

Photo Credit: Sarah DeBoer/Retna Ltd.